


Equation of time

by AndromedaSmith



Series: Starstruck: Karamel One-Shots [6]
Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alien Culture, Canon Compliant, F/M, Light Angst, Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-21
Updated: 2020-12-21
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:27:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28201578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AndromedaSmith/pseuds/AndromedaSmith
Summary: The approaching solstice has Mon-El curious, Kara pensive, and eventually both just a little homesick.
Relationships: Kara Danvers/Mon-El
Series: Starstruck: Karamel One-Shots [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1852360
Comments: 10
Kudos: 21





	Equation of time

**Author's Note:**

> Set between 2x09 and 2x10.

Mon-El shows up at Kara’s apartment door as he had the previous night, this time bearing coffee and donuts instead of club soda. She beams her delight.  _ The humans might be onto something with this “way to a woman’s heart” business... _

“Mon-El! Back so soon?” she teases.

“I… thought we could walk to the DEO, for our training? Maybe you have some tips to share?”

“You just want to sweet-talk me into taking it easy on you.”

“Yes … no. No! I’m ready to learn. To listen to you.”

Her reply is lost in a mouthful of donut but the look in her eyes says “yeah, right.” He does his best to look serious and eager despite the early hour.

He sips his coffee — another Earth custom that is definitely growing on him — while she finishes getting herself ready. She’ll be heading into CatCo after their early-morning session at the DEO and she tries to explain the “office politics” at both places. These politics sound a little like royal court intrigue but he’s not so sure about this interpretation. Aside from the business with Eve, he hadn’t seen any intrigue during his brief tenure at CatCo, and the DEO staff seem to be too busy for the kind of plotting and backstabbing he’s familiar with. This particular translation to Earth culture isn’t exactly the kind of thing he can ask Kara about. 

She slips on her glasses and her transformation from Earth newcomer guide and superhero trainer to go-getter reporter is complete. Glasses or not, she’s still beautiful and he tries not to stare. 

Kara reminds him about his own glasses and they head out into the drizzly morning dark. A few cars swish by. She greets by name every dog and dog-walker they pass, introducing him as “my friend Mike.” He nods and smiles and tries not to show his bewilderment at these weird quadrupeds. Are they really all the same species?

They turn a corner, leaving her neighbourhood behind for the commercial area where the DEO tower is located. Office politics and dogs are too confusing for the moment, but he thinks of something he can ask her about.

Mon-El points up at the dark sky. “Axial tilt, right?”

Her brisk walk slows a bit and she looks at him, confused.

“Why it’s still dark at this time in the morning, when it wasn’t a few tendays ago?”

“Right, yes, Earth’s axial tilt is a lot more than Krypton’s or Daxam’s. And it’s weeks, not tendays,” she reminds him. “Just another week or so until the solstice, and then the days start getting longer again.”

“Is the axial tilt why I don’t feel as fast as I did before we went to Maaldoria? Less yellow sunlight?”

She hums thoughtfully. “Could be. I don’t usually notice; maybe I’ve adapted. I didn’t use my powers a lot when I first got here.” She pauses. “You’re not looking for an excuse not to train, are you?” 

Her voice sounds stern but her sparkling blue eyes are teasing.

He scoffs. “Hey, I got up before sunrise for this, didn’t I?”

“That you did,” she smiles.

They continue on in companionable silence for a few moments. He thinks about Krypton and Daxam, about the things they share and the truth about himself that he hasn’t shared. That let them escape on Maaldoria, for reasons that weren’t even clear to him. Maybe Kara could help him figure it out, if he just told her.  _ Like she’d ever talk to him again.  _

Tired of that train of thought, he decides to continue their previous discussion. “So is the solstice a big deal here, like aphelion and the rebirth of Rao on Daxam?” 

“Or the nova cycle on Krypton, yeah. Well, sort of. You see all the decorations—” she indicates the colored lights, ivy and tinsel in the storefronts they pass and he nods ”— the major holiday in this part of Earth is Christmas. It started as a religious festival that incorporated earlier solstice celebrations; it’s still religious for many people but for others it’s just a part of ‘the holidays’ that start with Thanksgiving. There are other holidays around now too: Hanukkah, Dong Zhi, Yalda Night, Kwanzaa. It’s my favorite time of year.”

They cross a street and Mon-El glances over at Kara. Her face is lit up, not only by the streetlights and the light strands around the shop windows, but from the joy she carries. She might be the last daughter of a dead world, but she has enough life for a whole planet within herself. He’d do anything to keep that smile on her face.

“Do you celebrate the nova cycle here? How?” he asks.

The smile falls from her lips and his heart sinks.

“I … don’t, really. I’ve tried to explain it to Clark, and to the Danvers, but I could never quite get the idea across. For a long time I thought I was the last one who remembered Krypton and Rao … it’s hard, sometimes. Dar-Essa blossoms. Guild conclaves. Nova cycle. All gone.”

“Yeah. But now you’re not the last,” he points out. “My Kryptonian isn’t great, but it’s enough for the nova cycle rituals.”

Her face uncrinkles a bit. “You’re right. I guess a boy from Daxam and a girl from Krypton could do worse than remember together. I don’t know much about the rebirth of Rao ceremony, but I could learn.”

“I … don’t think a Daxamite ceremony would be your style,” Mon-El admits. He wants to tease her about her uptight Kryptonian-ness, but his heart just isn’t in it. “Maybe we better stick with the nova cycle.” 

He pauses. “It’s hard to really believe. Everyone on Daxam I knew, every place on Daxam I’ve ever been, just gone. I mean, some of those people and places, good riddance,” he continues, trying (and failing) to lighten his tone. “But…” his voice trails off as the realization hits him like it hasn’t before. His eyes go unfocused and Kara has to grab his hand to keep him from walking into traffic. She gazes at him and he can see the recognition in her expression. He tries to ignore the jolt he felt in his chest when their hands touched, and squeezes her hand in thanks before letting it go.

They arrive at the DEO just as the sky is starting to brighten in the east. He greets the front desk guard by name — she may know everyone in her neighbourhood but this is  _ his _ neighborhood, for now. Side-by-side they descend the steps to the training room. He pulls out of his sweatshirt while she goes off to change into her suit. Maybe it’s his recent realization, but it feels like she’s taking a long time. Rationally, he knows that she has the quick-change routine down to a science —  _ something else to learn from her  _ — but his heart can’t be dissuaded from feeling like he’s been abandoned.

When Kara finally joins him, the first rays of sunlight are reflecting off the glass-clad building across the street and streaming down into the room. She looks at the yellow light and then at him. He nods. They settle themselves on the floor, facing the window. Mon-El takes a deep breath and reaches out to grasp Kara’s hand. They exhale together and give thanks for the promise of a new day.

**Author's Note:**

> The equation of time is the difference between time as measured by clocks and as measured by the position of the Sun in the sky, due to both the Earth’s axial tilt and the slight non-circularity of its orbit. It’s why the earliest and latest sunrises and sunsets don’t occur exactly on the solstices. Plus it just sounds cool.
> 
> This leapt into my head and demanded to be written and posted before the 2020 December solstice. With only a few hours to spare, my proofreading was perfunctory; corrections most welcome.


End file.
